The need for a transparent, flexible, compact, lightweight, foldable, waterproof cover for a golf bag for use when the golfer is actually out on the course during inclement weather is well recognized, as for instance in U.S. Pat. No. 3,754,587 to Rainieri, Aug. 28, 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 2,985,212 to Dozier, Aug. 13, 1958; U.S. Pat. No. 3,316,951 to Jacobson, Apr. 26, 1965; U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,189 to Davis, Aug. 5, 1964; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,718,251 to Barbato, Mar. 15, 1954.
All of the above references disclose a transparent waterproof cover for a golf bag, each disclosure providing for covers with varying degrees of ease of access to clubs within the golf bag inside the cover, and with varying degrees of ease of installation and removal of the cover from the golf bag. None of the known covers provide a shoulder strap which is integral to the cover; instead, all known covers provide slits or sleeves in the cover for passing therethrough a shoulder strap of the golf bag itself. Consequently, the golf bag strap remains exposed to the weather, and, at least to some extent, the golf bag is exposed to moisture entering the cover through these slits or sleeves.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a golf bag having integral thereto a shoulder strap so that the golf bag's shoulder strap can remain inside the cover and unused during inclement weather.
Jacobson's cover has handles 80 which are directly affixed to the panels of the cover and might be used as an independent carrying means. However neither Jacobson nor any other known covers provide a connecting means to attach an inside portion of the cover to the upper portion of the golf bag together with a shoulder strap attached at its upper end to that connecting means. Without such a provision, it would not be possible to carry a golf bag by means of a handle attached only to the cover without also requiring that the cover be closed at the bottom, as Jacobson suggests. Even then, a carrying means such as Jacobson discloses attached to a closed bottom cover places an undue strain upon the cover fabric. A golf bag within an open bottom cover having handles, but not having a means of attaching the cover to the golf bag would fall out of the cover when the cover was lifted by those handles. No known covers contain such a connecting means and a shoulder strap and none appear readily adaptable to contain such provisions.
Accordingly it is a further object of the invention to provide a connecting means integral to the cover to removably attach the inside of the cover to an upper portion of a golf bag.
None of the known covers are adapted to be used with the popular "Eclipse" type bag from Sun Mountain Sports, 235 North 1st St., Missoula, Montana 59802, U.S.A. The Eclipse type bag has two spring loaded extendable legs integral to the bag which normally extend under the influence of the force of integral elastic cords, so that when the bag is set down it automatically stands upright on its own tripod which consists of the bag itself and the two extended legs. The bag's own shoulder strap is attached at its lower end to a yoke which in turn attaches to each of the extendable legs through sleeves located at either side of the bag. Lifting on the shoulder strap of the golf bag retracts the legs for carrying. However, no known golf bag cover is designed to fit such a bag having integrally attached retractable legs, and no known cover is designed to retract these legs by lifting on the cover's own shoulder strap. The owner of an Eclipse bag must either use a very short rain cover so that the legs are free to extend, no cover at all, or forego the tripod effect when the bag is covered because when the bag is within a rain cover and the shoulder strap of the bag is not accessible, there is no means for conveniently retracting the legs. Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide a rain cover for an Eclipse type bag which will retract the legs of the bag when the bag is lifted and carried by the shoulder strap of the cover, and which will then allow the legs to extend when the bag bottom is set on the ground.